This invention relates to a method and an installation for sorting goods, such as articles of clothing, which are each carried for instance by a garment hanger, supported by carrying members attached to a driven continuous conveyor, such as a cable or chain, traversing a closed track along which a number of ejection stations are installed. In each carrying member, which is releasable, a garment hanger can be taken up. These members are attached at regular intervals to said conveyor and each member is constructed with actuating means such as an operating lever for opening the releasable carrying member. For this purpose each ejection station is provided with a control member, for example a tiltable trigger plate, with which the actuating lever of a passing carrying member cooperates for opening said member and releasing the concerning hanger with the goods.
A known sorting installation of this type has a capacity which is directly related to two factors: the speed of the conveyor on the one hand and the mutual spacing between the ejection stations on the other hand. However, it is not possible to increase the capacity of the sorting installation by simply allowing the speed of travel of the conveyor to increase since the goods, especially clothing are subject to the influence of air resistance and an increase in the speed causes the suspended goods to assume a sloping position. Moreover, the mutual spacing of the ejection stations cannot be reduced to below a certain minimum since otherwise an unimpeded operation of the control member by a passing carrying member is no longer guaranteed.